From Wish to Reality
by Raberba girl
Summary: Six year old Yuki makes a wish and gets to experience life without the curse for ten years: some things are different, obviously. Focus is on Ayame & Yuki's brotherly relationship. Contains reference to the manga spoiler about Akito.


From Wish to Reality

A Fruits Basket fanfic by Raberba girl

Author's Notes: Yuki is turning six years old at the beginning of the story. The pronouns used for Akito are based on Yuki's perception. Also, for those who don't know, 'Niisan (short for Oniisan) means "older brother."

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The room was dark, which made the six candles seem to burn brighter. Yuki hugged himself as he stared at them. _Happy Birthday, Yuki!_ The cheerful words inscribed on the cake did nothing to make Yuki feel any better.

Across from him, Akito smiled. "What's the matter, Yuki? I thought you would _like_ to have a little birthday party, for once. You know how jealous you were of Hatsuharu when you weren't allowed to go to his."

Yuki did not point out that Akito himself had given the order that Yuki was not to attend.

"This...this wasn't-- what I had in mind." Being locked in a dark room with a cake and Akito did not exactly mirror Hatsuharu's exciting, friend-filled event, which had included things like balloons and games and presents.

Akito stood up suddenly. "Well, what did you have in mind?" he sneered.

Yuki cringed back. That had been a stupid thing to tell Akito. Now the other boy was getting angry.

"What did you want, lots of _friends_ to come over? You don't have any friends, little rat boy! They would be disgusted to be friends with a RAT! I'm enough for you, aren't I? I love you! No one else does, no one else _could_, you sniveling little twit!"

Yuki tried to keep the tears back. He was scared, but he had to do something fast. "Akito...I-I'm glad you wanted to share my birthday with me." It was the safest thing he could think to say.

"_Are_ you, really?" Akito's voice was hot and challenging.

"Being with you..."

Akito smiled, and Yuki relaxed just a little.

"Being with you is all I need. Thank you." Yuki was not sure whether or not he was lying, but that did not matter. The only important thing was that Akito be appeased.

Akito reached around the cake and caressed Yuki's face. "I'm glad, Yuki. You mean so much to me, and I'm glad you feel the same." Akito sat back down and smiled again. "Now, why don't you be a good boy and blow out your candles?"

_'Make a wish,'_ Yuki thought to himself. He leaned forward, trying to ignore the hungry way Akito was staring at him. _'I wish...'_ Yuki thought of Akito. He thought of the bond between them, the connection that could not be broken. He thought, with a pang, about all the children who would never play with him because he turned into a rat.

Yuki closed his eyes. _'I wish there was no curse. I wish I was a normal boy.'_ He blew out the candles.

---------------------------------

"Hah! You missed one, loser!"

Yuki's eyes flew open. The voice was not Akito's.

"Come now, Kyonkichi, I would like to see you do better," Ayame scoffed. He threatened to mash Kyo's face into the cake, but the smaller boy howled and twisted out of his grasp.

Shigure laughed. "Come on, Aya, I _want_ some of that cake."

"Preferably without Kyo's dirty face smeared in it," Hatori added irritably.

"My face is NOT dirty!" Kyo insisted.

"Look again, little boy," his mother sighed. She licked her thumb and rubbed at a spot on Kyo's cheek, while Kyo protested.

Yuki stared around in shock. He was sitting at a large picnic table outside, wearing Western clothes rather than a traditional robe, surrounded by Sohmas and a lot of kids who weren't Sohmas. The cake was suddenly much bigger and fancier, and there were balloons and streamers and other decorations everywhere. Another table was piled high with colorfully-wrapped gifts.

_'What's going on?!'_ Yuki thought. But after a second he realized that he was not really as shocked as he thought he had been. In fact, he suddenly wasn't so sure why he had been surprised at all. Something about a dark room...? Yuki shook his head. He had no interest in thinking gloomy thoughts on his birthday.

A dark-haired little girl suddenly slung her arm around Yuki's shoulders. "C'mon, Yuki! Let your mom cut the cake so we can _eat_ it!"

"Akito?" Yuki murmured in shock.

Akito tossed her head impatiently. "What, Yuki?"

"Um...nothing, I guess." _'What's the big deal?'_ Yuki thought. Akito had always been a girl, right?

"Now move out of the way, kids, so I can cut this thing," a woman said. Yuki recognized her as his mother, and wondered why he had the sense that she shouldn't be here. _'My mother gave me up to Akito, didn't she? But no, how stupid. Come on, Yuki, get your act together,'_ he thought to himself.

"I want cake!" Kyo yelled. He shoved Momiji out of the way in order to get closer to the table, and Momiji began to cry.

"Kyo!" Kyo's mother said sternly. "Apologize!"

"Aw, Mom...!"

"Kyo-kun, save some for meee!" Kagura wrapped her arms around Kyo's neck, choking him. "You are sooo cute!"

"Girl-cooties! Girl-cooties!" Kyo managed to howl before his breath was totally cut off.

Yuki ate his cake somewhat absent-mindedly, with Akito on one side of him and Hatsuharu sitting quietly on the other side. For some reason Yuki couldn't help staring around at everyone and marveling, though it was becoming less and less clear to him why everything should seem so extraordinary. Across the table, Kyo was mixing his cake and ice cream together into edible mush, and Momiji was happily copying him.

_'Kyo's my best friend,'_ Yuki thought in confusion. _'And his mom isn't dead, why would I think that? So why does this all feel so weird?'_

"Hey Yuki," Akito said. Yuki turned to face her. He had time only to see the wicked glint in her eye before she grabbed his face and wrote the words "Birthday Boy" on it with icing from the cake. Hatsuharu laughed and nearly choked on his soda.

"Oooh, Aya!" Shigure said when he saw what was happening. "How _lovely_ you would look all covered in cake!"

"Wouldn't I?" Ayame returned, preening. Then, as if they had planned it beforehand, the two of them grabbed pieces of cake at the same moment and splatted them into Hatori's face.

"Food fight!" Kyo shrieked. He hurled a glob of cake-and-ice-cream-mush at Kagura, who roared and plowed him into the ground. Hatori wiped his face and got up to chase his two friends around the yard.

As the adults struggled to restore order, Yuki and Akito and Hatsuharu leaned into each other and laughed until their sides hurt.

---------------------------------

That night, Yuki padded into his big brother's room. Ayame was lounging on the bed, listening to music and doodling ideas for clothes.

"Get out of my room," Ayame said automatically. Yuki ignored him. He scrambled onto the bed and leaned against his brother.

"'Niisan, I had fun today."

"Happy birthday, brat," Ayame muttered. "Now go away."

"Whatcha drawing?"

"Nothing. Get out of my room." But Ayame made no move to chase Yuki out, and the boys sat for a little while in companionable silence. Yuki watched his brother draw, admiring his skill. Someday, Yuki wanted to wear clothes that his own brother had designed.

"Hey, Aya-niisan? Do you think Mommy will let me dye my hair like yours?" Ayame had recently bleached his hair white, to their mother's fury. She had already been unhappy with the length.

"Of course not, stupid. Mother likes 'clean-cut young men with respectable black hair.' And who said you were allowed to call me _Aya_, anyway?" Ayame suddenly dropped his sketchpad and pounced on his brother. "Who gave you permission to call me Aya, runt?"

Yuki screamed with laughter and tried to fight back as Ayame tickled him mercilessly. "Aya-niisan, Aya-niisan!" Yuki shrieked. He managed to twist off the bed and run. Ayame had just started after him when their mother came through the doorway.

"All right, boys, that's enough. Yuki, it's time for bed."

"Save me, Mommy!" Yuki dived behind his mother, trying to use her as a shield. Ayame growled playfully and started after him, but their mother pushed him back. "_Enough_, Ayame. You'll get him so excited he won't be able to sleep."

"With all those new toys he got today? I doubt he will sleep a wink anyway, because he'll be itching so badly to play with them. Here." Ayame suddenly went to his closet and started rooting around. "I forgot to wrap this, runt."

"Oniichan, I love it! I love you!"

"See what it is first!" Ayame snapped. He sat back on his heels and tossed the shopping bag to his brother. Yuki ripped it open and pulled out a stuffed animal. It was a mouse.

"Oniichan, I love it! I love you!"

"Ugh..." Ayame was blushing a little bit, but Yuki didn't notice as he ran and hugged his brother.

"All right, all right," their mother said. "Yuki, get to bed now! _Now_, young man!"

"Yes, Mama." Yuki kissed Ayame on the cheek and then left with his mother.

"Yuki, that was disgusting!" Ayame yelled after them. He scrubbed at his cheek and went back to drawing clothes.

---------------------------------

A few nights later, Yuki woke up trembling from a nightmare. He lay rigid for a minute, then gathered up his courage and bolted. When he leaped out of bed, the blanket tangled around his legs and he tripped. Yuki fought his way free, practically sobbing with fear. He dashed out of his room and burst into Ayame's, where he flung himself onto Ayame's bed and cried, mostly with relief.

Ayame awakened slowly. "Wha's goin' on?" he slurred groggily. "Yugi?"

"O-Oniisan, p-please let m-me sleep here ton-night..."

"Go 'way," Ayame grumbled, trying to shove Yuki off the bed. Yuki only curled up and clung tighter.

"Oh, _Yuki_! Brat!" Ayame said in frustration. Then he started shouting for their mother. "Mother! Please come and detach the leech from me!"

"O-Oniisan, please! I had a-a nightmare!"

Ayame moaned, then rolled over and resolved to pretend that Yuki had never barged in and woken him up.

Yuki lay there, relieved that he had not been chased out. Slowly, with Ayame's solid warmth at his back, Yuki relaxed. He listened to the sound of Ayame's deep, even breathing, and after a while, without realizing it, he fell asleep.

TWO YEARS LATER:

They had only been sitting down for ten minutes, and Yuki was already bored to the point of being hyper. The ceremony hadn't even started yet.

"Mama," Yuki whispered. "When is 'Niisan coming out?"

"Hush, Yuki!" his mother said in exasperation. It was not the first time he had asked. "Ayame won't come out for a while."

"But I want to see him!" Yuki insisted. "I'm _bored!"_

"Yuki! Please!"

It was a windy day, and the graduation ceremony was being held outside. One of the paper flowers that decorated the stage was tugged free by the wind. It skittered around the ground, finally pausing near Yuki's feet. Yuki's mother scooped up the flower and handed it to him.

"Here, Yuki. Play with this."

Yuki plucked at the petals restlessly, then stuck the flower on his head. He giggled, wishing he could show Kyo or Akito.

Unfortunately, Kyo had not wanted to sit through the graduation ceremony, and Akito had gotten sick at the last minute and was not able to come, so Yuki was on his own. Not counting, of course, the younger kids, who were sitting too far away for him to talk to them. Yuki could hear Hiro and Hatsuharu squabbling a few seats over.

Finally, the music started. Yuki sat up and watched intently as the graduates filed out in two lines. Yuki jumped up and waved joyfully when he saw his brother, sparkling like a butterfly in the midst of the other teenagers. Yuki's mother quickly pulled him back down again, but Yuki kept smiling and smiling. He had never felt prouder of his big brother.

The speeches were incredibly boring (except for Hatori's valedictorian speech, which the Sohma children loyally listened to with rapt attention). The long, long list of names after that literally put Momiji to sleep and nearly did the same to Yuki.

Yuki's mother nudged him when the announcer reached the graduates whose surnames started with S. Yuki fixed his eyes on Ayame and watched as his brother slowly made his way closer and closer to the center of the stage. Closer...closer...

"Ayame Sohma," announced the woman who was reading from her list of names.

Ayame stepped forward, accepted his diploma, and turned to dazzle the camera with an elegant pose and brilliant smile. Then he reached for the microphone, startling the lady who was reading off names.

"My dear fellow graduates, esteemed parents, cherished friends, and honored relatives!" Ayame said in a ringing voice. "Welcome to this day of celebration, this rite by which we boys and girls metamorphose into driven, ambitious men and women!"

The audience was murmuring in surprise, the teachers and school officials were looking alarmed, the graduates were cheering, and the Sohma children were screaming ecstatically in support of their cousin. Yuki cried his brother's name once, then simply sat still and gazed at Ayame with admiration. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Shigure whooping and Hatori looking fed up.

"These past three years," Ayame continued, "have been full of joy and despair, love and rejection, hope and frustration. From the astounding academic accomplishments of my dear cousin Hatori, to the endless quest for love of my dear cousin Shigure,--" There was an angry tittering from the girls Shigure had offended or cheated on during his high school career. "--we have all experienced these precious high school years to their fullest! To my fellow students who may wish they had done things differently, I tell you now: Do not look upon it as failure! We are bursting with all the loveliness of youth, we have decades spread out before us, waiting only for us to grasp their possibilities! I--"

It was at this point that a teacher managed to wrestle the microphone away from Ayame. Yuki booed loudly, until his mother covered his mouth. Ayame struggled for a few seconds, but then gave up with a shrug and a smile. He blew a kiss to the audience and swirled offstage in as glamorous and dramatic an exit he could contrive.

Hatori, next in line, accepted his diploma quietly, but Shigure's antics started a whole new uproar. Things calmed down in the end, and Yuki grew drowsy as the rest of the names were called. There were no other mishaps to spice up the proceedings, unfortunately, and Yuki was startled when the music started up again, signaling the stately exit of the graduates.

Before his mother could stop him, Yuki jumped up and ran after them. He caught up when they had gathered in the gym to change out of their graduation clothes.

Yuki, wheezing because of the exercise, waded through what seemed to him a sea of teenagers, all bigger than him and all looking the same in their half-discarded robes. An arm suddenly snaked around his neck and locked him in a chokehold.

"Hah! Looks like we've just caught a little trespasser," Shigure's teasing voice sounded from somewhere above Yuki's head.

"What?" came Ayame's indignant voice. "How did the brat get back here?"

"Let him go, Shigure," Hatori sighed. "You're choking him."

"He's fine, Ha-san," Shigure said, but he released his hold.

Yuki, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, knelt down and clutched his chest, fighting to get air into his lungs.

"Hey!" Ayame threw himself to his knees beside Yuki and put his hands on his shoulders. "He is having an asthma attack! What did you do to my brother, 'Gure-san?" he demanded accusingly.

"I didn't do anything!" Shigure exclaimed, throwing up his hands in proclamation of his innocence.

Hatori quickly fetched the inhaler out of Yuki's pocket and helped him use it. After a few minutes, Yuki had got his breath back and was feeling better.

"You were running again, weren't you," Hatori said sternly. "I _told_ you, you have to watch it. Don't just dash off without thinking."

"He's right, dummy." Ayame smacked Yuki on the back of the head, but gently. "If you die, I will have no one to model my outfits on."

Yuki smiled up at his brother. "Sorry, 'Niisan. Hey, you were so cool!"

"I was, wasn't I?" Ayame preened.

"Don't feed his ego, Yuki," Hatori muttered, knowing his words would go unheeded. _'Really,'_ Hatori thought to himself. _'The way that kid worships him, it's no wonder Ayame thinks he owns the universe.'_

A group of girls nearby had noticed Yuki standing with the Mabudachi Trio. "Oh!" one of them exclaimed. "He's so cute!"

"He looks like you, Ayame-kun," said another girl. "Is he your brother?"

"Hah! Unfortunately."

"He's sooo pretty!" a third girl cooed, and another exclaimed over Yuki's "gorgeous eyes." The whole group descended on Yuki, giggling over him and admiring him and pinching his cheeks. Yuki basked in the attention.

Shigure noticed the pouty look on Ayame's face and chuckled. "Jealous, Aya?"

"Of _that_ little brat? You insult me, 'Gure-san!"

Shigure slung his arm over his friend's shoulders. "Don't let it get you down, Aya. You've always got me, after all." Shigure winked and licked his lips suggestively. Ayame blew a kiss, and then they both made the thumbs-up sign and cried, "Yes!"

"How long are you two planning to keep up that act?" Hatori asked irritably.

FOUR YEARS LATER:

"Move, Kyo, I can't see," Yuki said impatiently. He shoved the other boy out of the way and peered through the slit in the curtains. The auditorium was packed, and the noise from the audience was a loud murmur of many conversations. Yuki scanned the rows he could see, but there was no sign, as far as he could tell, of the person he was looking for. Oh, there was his mother--

"Don't shove me!" Kyo knocked Yuki out of the way and resumed his place at the slit. "Hey, there's Shishou! He's going to sit by...oh. Haha! Dad and Shishou are arguing."

Yuki was about to try for another turn, when there were loud footsteps behind him and someone grabbed his shoulder. "Sohma!" the student director exclaimed. "And you other Sohma! Get back in the wings, curtain rises in two minutes!"

"Your _mom_ get in the wings," Kyo grumbled, but he and Yuki shuffled back to their places. "Hey Yuki," Kyo whispered. "You nervous?"

"Yeah," Yuki admitted.

"Hah! Loser. I bet you'll puke all over Haru, and then everyone will laugh!"

Yuki started punching Kyo, who yelled and tried to hit back. Kyo wasn't too successful, since the large costume paws covering his hands were so awkward.

It was Hatsuharu who stopped them. "Hey," the younger boy said in his usual bored tone. "Stop fighting. We have to put on a good act for _Ayame_."

Yuki gasped and quickly stepped away from Kyo. He adjusted his mouse-ears headband nervously. He was hoping so badly that Ayame would come, despite the fact that he was "such a busy college student." Hatsuharu always seemed to know what to say to get people to do what he wanted.

"What do I care about that loud-mouthed, annoying air-head--" Kyo was saying, but neither Yuki nor Hatsuharu were listening. An instant later, the director came spazzing over to order Hatsuharu back into the ox costume he was sharing with another boy.

The children in Yuki's school were putting on a play called _Outcast of the Zodiac_, based on an old legend. Half of the girls had voted for Kyo in the title role, and the other half had voted for Yuki; Kyo only scored the role by a coin toss. Not that either he or Yuki had actually _wanted_ the part.

All too soon, the curtain rose. Kyo sauntered onstage, looking confident, until he tripped on his cat tail and went sprawling. The audience burst into laughter. Yuki, panicked at this unexpected turn of events, stumbled onstage too early. Distantly, he could hear Akito yelling, "Go Yuki!"

"My dear Mr. Cat!" Yuki squeaked in a perfect imitation of a mouse's voice. The effect, however, was from jangled nerves, not good acting.

Kyo scrambled furiously to his feet. "Stupid Rat!" he yelled. "It's all your fault!"

Yuki reeled back. That line was supposed to come much later in the play. The laughter of the audience rang in Yuki's ears. He froze, unaccountably humiliated, his mind whirling with confusion.

Kyo, meanwhile, was realizing that his outburst at Yuki was being taken as an actual line in the play. "I mean...uh--"

Momiji suddenly came hopping out. "Hello, Mr. Cat!" he said cheerily. "Hello, Mr. Mouse!" He hopped around the stage a little more, and the laughter of the audience dissolved into a chorus of delighted "Aww!"s. Apparently they found Momiji very cute in his bunny outfit. "Guess what, guess what!"

"What?" Kyo asked cautiously.

"Mr. Kami has invited us all to a party!" Momiji sang out, his voice filled with excitement.

"Go Kami!" Akito cried enthusiastically. People shushed her, looking annoyed.

Yuki slowly began to relax. Although he was too full of adrenaline to think of it at the moment, he would later be grateful to Momiji (and impressed with the younger boy's instincts) for rescuing the play.

"Oh, how wonderful!" Yuki squeaked cheesily.

"Cool, a party," Kyo invented. He had not spent much time practicing his lines. "I hope the stupid Rat isn't going, because I want all the goodies for myself."

Momiji playfully wagged a finger, which brought delighted squeals from a few girls in the audience. "Now, now, Mr. Cat! There will be plenty of treats to share! Well, I hope to see you both there! Have a wonderful morning!" Momiji hopped back into the wings, and the audience applauded. Yuki gathered his wits together.

"Did you hear anything about this party?" Kyo asked Yuki, groping for lines.

"I heard it was tomorrow night," Yuki said, getting back to the plot. He turned to the audience and gave an exaggerated wink, to indicate that he was up to something.

A sudden laugh echoed from the audience. It was loud and distinctive and very familiar. Yuki jerked in surprise, then looked until he saw Ayame, who was sitting between Shigure and Hatori. Ayame and Shigure were laughing at the silliness of the play. Hatori, slumped in the seat with his arms crossed, was trying to look bored, but a smirk was tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Yuki smiled at the sight of his brother, and in that instant every trace of his stage fright vanished.

"Tomorrow night?" Kyo was saying in confusion. "But I thought-- oh yeah. Well, Rat...Mr. Rat, whatever. Thanks for telling me. I guess." Kyo stood there a minute, trying to remember what came next. Finally he just shrugged, said "Bye," and walked offstage.

Yuki stood there looking happily at Ayame, until the lights faded to indicate the start of the next scene.

The rest of the play went as smoothly as such plays usually go. The tale of the poor Cat, who was tricked by the Rat and left out of the zodiac, earned Kyo a lot of fans from the adolescent girls in the audience. Yuki was thrown off a bit when he walked onstage at one point to be greeted by a chorus of boos.

Before he could get too upset, however, Ayame stood up and called out a mini-speech in praise of the Rat's cleverness. The rest of the play ended up as a kind of popularity contest between the Cat and the Rat (Akito had turned her program into a banner that said "I heart Yuki!" on it), but the happy ending left everyone satisfied.

As Yuki stood onstage, bowing with all his classmates, he felt proud and unbelievably happy when everyone in the audience rose to give them a standing ovation. Ayame and Shigure stood on their chairs and whooped, flinging bits of their torn-up programs around in lieu of confetti.

When the curtain fell for the last time, Yuki tore off his costume and ran offstage into the muddle of people from the audience, looking for his family. He thought he caught a glimpse of Hatori from behind, so he fought his way through the crowd and grabbed Hatori's hand.

"'Tori-niisan!" Yuki yelled. "Where is Aya-niisan?"

"Somewhere around here," Hatori answered. He smiled a little. "Hey. You were pretty good, kid. All four of you."

Yuki beamed. Someone suddenly covered his eyes from behind, and Yuki yelled. "It's 'Gure-niisan!"

"Shi-gu-re," Shigure returned indignantly. "Only Aya is allowed to give me nicknames! And maybe Ha-san, too."

Someone else planted a hand on Yuki's head, and painfully ruffled his hair. "The brat is getting out of line again," Ayame declared.

Yuki whirled and flung his arms around his brother. "'Niisan! I was wonderful!"

"Now where did he get that ego from?" Hatori wondered sarcastically.

"Yes!" Ayame said to Yuki, trying not to let pride show too much on his face. "You are a fine actor, Yuki, but you still have much to learn from me, your much more accomplished elder brother!"

Yuki squeezed harder, until Ayame's eyes were bugging out and he was gasping for breath. "No, 'Niisan! I'm the best, say it! Say it!" Ayame choked some more, and Shigure knocked Yuki warningly on the shoulder. Yuki loosened his grip a little. "Say it, 'Niisan!" Yuki insisted.

"Never," Ayame managed. Then he laughed when Yuki attempted to squeeze him in half again. Hatori managed to detach the boy from Ayame. He wrapped Yuki in his arms, pinning him, and whispered some mock-threat that made Yuki laugh.

"The child is getting stronger," Ayame murmured wonderingly to Shigure.

FOUR YEARS LATER:

Yuki got to school a bit later than usual, so the courtyard was filled with more people than he was used to seeing in the morning. Many of them called out greetings, and he was kept busy with replies. Yuki was almost to the front doors when a breathless female voice called out for him to wait.

Yuki turned. The girl who had called him was a shy, moderately pretty girl, currently blushing hard enough to turn her cheeks bright pink. "S-Sohma-kun," she said nervously. "I...I have something for you."

Yuki smiled his practiced lady-killer smile. "Oh really? What is it?"

The girl took a deep breath, then thrust an envelope at him. "Here!" she gasped.

Yuki took it with a graceful gesture. "A letter?" he asked in mock puzzlement and curiosity.

"Y-Yes! You don't have to read it now, but--" The girl broke off and hurried back to her friends some distance away, who all laughed and congratulated her.

Yuki grinned and glanced down at the love-note. _'Fifty-four,'_ he thought with satisfaction.

In the hallway, another girl stopped him. This one, a senior, had long red hair, and was surrounded by three other girls. "Good morning, Yuki," Motoko said with a smile. She was blushing, but Yuki had grown to appreciate her manner, which was bolder than that of most of his other admirers.

"Good morning, Minagawa-sempai," Yuki said politely.

Motoko eyed the envelope in Yuki's hand suspiciously. "Is that...?" she asked vaguely, plastering a false smile over her anxiety.

Yuki smiled and moved deliberately closer. "Yes, another silly love-note," he answered, with a perfect blend of exasperation and amusement. "They get somewhat tiresome after a while. I think I appreciate more the beauty of quiet admiration from afar. What do you think, Minagawa-sempai?" Yuki fluttered his eyelashes and absently curled a strand of Motoko's luscious red hair around one finger.

"O-Oh, Yuki!" Motoko exclaimed, reclaiming her wits. She stepped back and pulled her hair away from him, trying to act dignified. "Really, now. You ought to watch you behavior around a senior."

Yuki smiled again, this time more innocently. "Of course, Minagawa-sempai. Now, if you will excuse me..."

"Have a good day, Yuki," she returned, obviously relishing the joy of saying his name.

Yuki winked and waved at the other three girls, who were practically drooling as they stared at him. Then he continued on his way, savoring the delicious power he had. Being the center of attention was so fun.

Yuki walked into the classroom and almost immediately caught sight of Kyo. His cousin was slouched at a desk, reading a textbook and looking incredibly bored. Yuki sauntered up and dropped the love-note on Kyo's desk.

Kyo jumped and stared at the letter. "No!" he cried. "Not another one!"

"Score," Yuki said smugly. "What is it now, fifty-four to forty-nine?"

"I'm falling _behind_!" Kyo growled. He punched his fist into his palm. "I don't get it. Half the girls in school have the hots for me...how come you're always getting more attention?!"

Yuki draped an arm around Kyo's shoulders, and kept it there even though his cousin tried to shrug it off. "It's because you're so _raw_, Kyonkichi. You've got natural looks and the bad-boy attitude some girls go for, but where's the _finesse_? Unschooled, Kyo, that's what you are."

"And I suppose you're the one to teach me," Kyo growled. "I swear, you get more like that psycho brother of yours every day. And don't call me Kyonkichi."

Yuki shrugged. "All right, Kyon-Kyon."

"Stupid Rat!"

Yuki frowned. Kyo had picked up the derogatory nickname from that old Zodiac play, and it was irritating that Kyo had not tired of it yet.

There was a polite cough from behind them. Surprised, Yuki and Kyo turned around.

Yuki stared at the girl in front of him. It was Tohru Honda, a plain, unpopular girl in his class who hung out with the school weirdos. It was strange that she should be here now, since she and her two friends were practically the only girls in school who were not in love with Yuki, or Kyo, or both.

"Excuse me," the Honda girl said shyly. It was such a different shyness from the kind Yuki had come to expect, that he found himself marveling. The polite sweetness in the girl's smile was refreshing, compared to the madly blushing, love-sick adoration Yuki was used to. "I'm sorry to bother you, Sohma-kun and, er, Sohma-kun, but..."

"What is it?" Kyo asked impatiently.

The Yankee suddenly came up. "Oi, Sohma. Is there a problem?"

"What's it to you?" Kyo exclaimed. "It's not _my_ fault she can't just spit it out." Yuki could tell that the fierce blonde girl was making his cousin nervous.

"I'm sorry," Honda said.

Her crestfallen look moved Yuki strangely. He smiled before he knew what he was doing, and put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "Don't let my cousin worry you, Honda-san. He's just rude."

"Hey!"

"Hm. Quite the Prince," Uotani murmured. She glared at Yuki and removed his hand from Honda's shoulder.

"I only meant to say," Honda managed, "that I would like to introduce myself..."

"We know who you are!" Kyo said impatiently.

"...since I'm...um..." Tohru glanced nervously at Uotani, but the other girl had turned her head to call out something to the denpa girl.

"Hanajima! The air's so thick even _I_ can see those waves!" Uotani joked. She walked away to disengage one of the class clowns from Hanajima's petrifying gaze.

"Since your cousin kindly took me in," Honda finished in a rush.

Yuki and Kyo stared at Honda for a moment in shock.

"You-- what?" Kyo said.

"Pardon me, Honda-san," Yuki said carefully. "You're living with my cousin?" He could not have understood correctly.

Honda let out a little breath. "Yes. Well, I am in a...difficult position at the moment, but don't worry, I will move back in with my grandfather when the renovations are over," she added hurriedly.

"What are you talking about?" Kyo asked.

"Mr. Shigure Sohma," Honda explained shyly. "He agreed to let me stay in his house rent-free, as long as I do the cooking and cleaning."

Yuki and Kyo stared at each other. _"We've gotta check this out,"_ Kyo mouthed. Yuki nodded, and mouthed back, _"After school."_ Then he turned back to Honda and smiled. "Ah. I see, Honda-san."

The girl smiled, looking very relieved. Then she bowed. "Thank you so much, Sohma-kun! So, I am Tohru Honda, and I am at your cousin's mercy."

"Which scares me," Kyo muttered darkly.

---------------------------------

Yuki had decided it would be better if he walked Tohru home from school, so it was Kyo who barged into Shigure's house that afternoon.

"Shigure!" Kyo yelled. "What's all this about Tohru Honda living with you?"

Shigure emerged from his study. "Kyo-kun! Well, long time no see. How about a more pleasant greeting?"

"Tohru Honda, Shigure," Kyo said threateningly.

Shigure threw up his hands in mock-distress. "Really, Kyo-kun! Stop glaring at me like that. Let's see, Tohru Honda...perhaps she is a classmate of yours?"

"What are these pink house-slippers doing by the door?" Kyo challenged. "And look at this! A girl's coat? That's her coat on the rack, isn't it? And I bet..." Kyo went away upstairs, then stomped back down. "I knew it! A room with girl's stuff in it, and a frilly pink western bed, too!"

"What's the problem, Kyo-kun?" Shigure asked in an injured tone. "Surely you don't think I would do anything _improper_ with a young, pretty teenage girl in the house, do you?"

Kyo's face turned red. "That's it! I'm moving in, too! And I'm staying for as long as she stays!"

Shigure shrugged his shoulders. "That's all right with me. I'll have to clear out a bedroom for you."

It turned out to be two bedrooms. Yuki decided, as soon as he heard the whole story, that he had better move in as well and keep an eye on both his cousins.

A MONTH LATER:

Yuki knelt on the ground, gently smoothing soil around the base of a plant. Tohru had just left, so there was no sound other than the singing of insects and the murmur of the wind in the trees.

An involuntary shiver rippled down Yuki's back. Although it was already April, the air was still cold. Yuki thought of the lunch Tohru had said she would prepare at the house. He stood up, deciding that it was probably time he ought to be getting back inside, anyway.

As Yuki approached the house, he heard laughter and voices raised in spirited conversation. _'That sounds like...'_ Yuki ripped open the door and hurried inside. "'Niisan!" he cried.

Ayame had been laughing with Shigure, teasing Kyo, and making Tohru blush with his suggestive comments. At the sound of Yuki's voice, Ayame's head whipped around and his eyes grew wide with delight. "Yuki! My dear Yuki!"

Laughing, Yuki tumbled into Ayame's arms, and his brother hugged him tightly. "'Niisan! I haven't seen you in so long!"

"You look as fantastic as ever, dear Yuki!"

"'Niisan?" Tohru wondered out loud.

Yuki turned to her with a smile, one arm still around Ayame. "Honda-san, have you been introduced to my brother yet?"

"Ah! Yes, but I am surprised that you have a brother, Yuki-kun! It is wonderful to meet you, Ayame-san!"

Ayame swept up her hand to kiss it. "I am positively charmed to make the acquaintance of such a fine young lady." Ayame winked at Yuki. "An admirable flower you have here, Yuki. Much too lovely to lock away in this house of messy boys!"

"Now really," Shigure protested. "It's not like she's a captive or anything."

"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed, probably to divert attention from her. Her cheeks were as pink as rose petals. "I forgot why I came in! If you will all wait just a moment, I'll get lunch ready for you."

"How crude, Yuki," Ayame sniffed. "Letting your Heart's Desire wait on you like a common drudge!"

"'Niisan, she's not my-- it's not like that," Yuki stammered, blushing.

Kyo jumped up. "_I'll_ help you make lunch, Tohru," he said pointedly.

"Oh! Kyo-kun, you really don't need to--"

"I'm helping!"

"A-All right, Kyo-kun." Tohru's smile was so loving, like that of a mother laughingly giving in to her insistent five-year-old. Yuki nearly chuckled.

"I'll help too," he offered, and the three of them headed for the kitchen.

Soon after they had all sat down to eat, the subject of what Ayame did for a living came up.

"Ah! I sell _Romance_!"

"What?" Kyo said irritably.

"It is a clothing shop," Ayame clarified, "with all sorts of outfits available, such as those that maids would wear, and nurses, and stewardesses, and much more!"

_'What in the world?'_ Kyo thought with misgivings.

"Oh," Tohru said. "It sounds so interesting!"

"Would you like to come see it?" Ayame offered. "And you must bring dear Yuki, too! A princess ought to always be accompanied by her prince!"

Yuki suddenly sat stock-still, his eyes wide. _"A princess ought to always be accompanied by her prince..."_ Why did those words sound so familiar? They weren't exactly right, but close enough to suddenly overwhelm Yuki with a sense of having lost something. Or of things not being as they should.

_'Why am I sitting so close to 'Niisan? I don't like him. Come to think of it, it _bugs_ me that he's here to visit. Why on earth did he have to come and mess things up? Why...why was I so excited a minute ago about going to 'Niisan's store? It sells such strange things! _'Niisan_ is so strange! I don't understand...'_

Yuki suddenly realized that he was standing in the hallway. How had that happened? He had just been sitting at the table with-- but no, that was silly. He had just been coming down the hallway, wincing because he could hear Ayame talking to Tohru in the next room.

Yuki wished the Snake would leave. Just his presence, his too-loud voice and his too-loud looks and his too-loud clothes, kept threatening to give Yuki headaches. He wasn't sure he could stand much more of this.

_"I'm sorry,"_ a small voice whispered in Yuki's ear. For some reason he was not surprised. _"I could only make the spell last ten years. But I hope you got your wish."_ Then the voice was gone.

_'Ten years...'_ Yuki thought. All that time of barely seeing his brother, and then, out of the blue, the fluff-brained twit had taken it into his head to "bridge the gap," or whatever he called it. Butting his way into Yuki's life, creating chaos in the order Yuki always struggled so desperately to hold onto...

_'But I keep remembering-- things. 'Niisan never abandoned me. I thought...'_

Images were beginning to steal into his memory: the Mabudachi Trio throwing cake around at his sixth birthday party. Ayame always letting Yuki tag along and be a part of things. Watching Ayame graduate high school, with the paper flowers. The Zodiac play he had so hoped his big brother would come and watch...

Yuki put a hand to his forehead. These warm memories kept clashing with thoughts of the dark, of being locked in lightless rooms, of being humiliated and beaten down, of being so achingly lonely that all he wanted was to disappear and not have to think or feel again. _'I don't understand,'_ Yuki thought again. _'And why am I crying?'_

Two sets of memories. The way things were, and the way things could have been. At the moment, Yuki did not know which was which. But he remembered feeling happy, and loved, and accepted, and he did not want to lose that.

Ayame's voice was drifting out of the open door. "Not to worry, Yuki, I brought one for you, too!"

Yuki stepped forward, and a card came flying out of nowhere. Yuki reached up and caught it instinctively. He looked at it. It was very garish, with Ayame's name plastered all over the front - apparently he had named the store after himself. _'That is so like him,'_ Yuki thought. He was not sure whether he felt irritated or amused. Or perhaps both?

"As luck would have it," Ayame continued, "I managed to make my store even more magnificent than it was before! I think, even if you searched through the whole wide world, you would never be able to find a shop as wonderful as--"

"'Niisan," Yuki said suddenly. "I would like to come see your shop." Something glowed inside him when he said it. Then another part of him, the part that was cold and wounded, had to add, "Just to see if it lives up to all your bragging."

There was sudden silence. As Ayame slowly absorbed this statement, Yuki was trying to sort out his thoughts.

On one hand, he wanted to scorn Ayame altogether, reject him the way his brother had rejected him when he was small. On the other hand, now he actually _knew_ what it would have been like to grow up with an older brother who acknowledged him, who cared about him even if Ayame tried to hide it. The desire to have that precious relationship again...Yuki could not bring himself to let go of it.

Ayame zoomed off, screaming delightedly for Shigure. Yuki stood there, conflicted. He was suddenly sure of this: Things were changing for the better. If he let the changes happen, let them flourish, then he knew in his heart that he could make that wish of ten years ago a reality.

--------------

Author's Notes: This fanfic is my main contribution to the S.B.B. Org Movement, headed by Gia (see her FFdotNet profile). It is dedicated to bringing Ayame and Yuki closer together as brothers. I learned about it from reading two of Gia's excellent Ayame/Yuki fics, _Brotherly Love_ and _Second Chances_.

Although I had summarized the two Ayame/Yuki-centered anime episodes, I also wanted to write an actual fanfic, but wasn't sure what to do. So I decided to follow Gia's lead and come up with a fantasy element (in this case, Yuki getting to grow up without the curse), which finally gave me enough ideas to work with. I really like the result, and I hope you enjoyed reading.


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